Footholds and Strongholds

At creation God made humans in His image and likeness, endowing them with powers and abilities akin to their Creator. One distinguishing quality which humans alone possessed, unique from all other creatures, was the power of choice—the will. This unique attribute made humans the only creatures with the ability to say yes or no to God. Since the devil’s fall from glory, it has been his mission to deceive and enlist others in his rebellion against the sovereignty of God. Continuing the work of deception and rebellion he began in heaven before he and his confederates were forcefully expelled, he seeks in his wrath against the Creator to totally deface the image of God from the lives of His children (Rev 12:17). To achieve these objectives Satan seeks inroads into people’s lives; means by which he can obtain a foothold, which could later become a stronghold, to gain total control or subordination of the human will to his whims and pleasures. Ultimately, as Jesus stated, his mission is to “kill, and steal, and destroy” (John 10:10). The beginning point for his objective is finding a foothold to obtain access into the lives of God’s creatures, for whom He sent His Son to die on the cross. As a result of the great conflict which broke out in heaven (Rev 12:7-11), the devil and his evil angels were expelled from their former abode and became vagrants in need of new habitations. This problem was solved when the devil tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden to disobey God. By complying to the counsel of the deceiver, the earth’s dominion was ceded to the usurper (Gen 3). The fall of Adam and Eve occurred because the devil found a foothold, an entry point into the heart of Eve. This foothold was the sin of covetousness. Eve apparently coveted the adulation and glory only God should have; she desired to be worshiped (v. 5). Eve was deceived by Satan who thereby gained control of her and subsequently used her as an agent to tempt Adam to join in the rebellion against God. Adam, on his part, apparently chose to join his wife in her disobedience rather than to obey God and live. In attempting to be godlike Adam and Eve lost their paradise home, their dominion over the entire creation, and their position as custodians of God’s world entrusted to them. Intriguingly, the same unholy ambition which Satan had nursed—the desire to have the position, dominion, and glory belonging to the Creator—he transmitted to Adam and Eve.